Orphans 1882

Vincent van Gogh's Orphans is a black and white drawing currently housed at the Van Gogh Museum. The drawing portrays a group of children, some clad in matching white dresses and bonnets, walking alongside other figures in a street setting. Van Gogh, deeply concerned with the plight of the working class and those marginalized by society, often turned to these subjects in his art. His own experiences of feeling like an outsider, combined with his religious convictions, fueled a strong desire to depict the lives of ordinary people with empathy and respect. The orphans, rendered with a sense of vulnerability, evoke a range of emotions from pity to concern, their matching outfits hinting at a loss of individuality, yet they are presented with a collective dignity. Van Gogh challenges the traditional representations of childhood, inviting viewers to consider the societal structures that produce such vulnerability, turning an image of social commentary into an intimate reflection on human resilience.